Donna Cameron’s Class Notes October 19, 2007
WEEK 7 Dust or Magic.
(Guys please note- FYI and to share. These are my personal notations of the class. Thanks!)
Ethnography projects.
Warren thinks Alex’s Piaget test from You Tube is interesting. Uses You Tube as a singular Environment.
Formal Operational, able to synthesize and analyze scenario of their own lives.
What does this mean in terms of software design?
Extensive Class Talk and Show of for game Freddi Fish.
I think that it uses Graphics well. Lots of directional arrows, which light up when the mouse rolls over the right place to click. Audio helps control and sells the product.
Designed by Ron Gilbert-for games such as Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam and the Backyard Sports series? google him! He also designed for Lucasfilm and did the Secret of Monkey Island series.
I like this game. I would buy it for my child.
Warren shows us something he is reviewing(?); he throws it up on big screen and passes around a small hand game. The game is like an electronic mind exercise kiosk. Its program keeps track of time and has branching.
Sound can either work for engagement or it can extract comment.
Every sound is used to engage, works with experience.
Developmentally, this is based on Sensorimotor base level and then up.
Object is published by Nintendo: Flash Focus.
I don’t like it- I don’t think setting goals and reinforcement of play skills by encouraging indulgence in popular culture cognitive bias is a healthy ploy for anyone.(i.e.- your mind is good-a ten-therefore it is the equivalentn of a 20 year old mind, and others). Game is dopey.
With big screens in many homes, there is a market demand for more content in children’s software.
She was reporter for the NY Times, wrote an article on ITP show in late 1990s.
W- The biggest enemy to a child is boredom. They need to push the limit…”
L- Parents are using video more today. There are some very interesting toys on the market. However, and I am speaking as a Mom here, when you actually buy the toy and try to unwrap it with little kids pulling on you screaming because they want to see it and you are trying to open the package without slicing your fingers and hands, and the dog is barking and chewing up all the package wrappings…it is completely different product than the one you see on TV. On TV everything looks easy to set up. In reality, it is quite the opposite with most products.
Do these products make sense? After all, who is the buyer, who are they marketed to, who is buying them and opening them?”
Also, on another note-
Student- Yeah- and why does everything always seem to have to be (connected to a keyboard+)?
L- Well like my daughter… got Barbie Dance studio and …it was way over her head…She opened it and even after we set it up it moved so fast and the steps were very complicated for her. She lost interest fast…! There are two events type things- interesting scenarios- that I’ve seen lately. They are:
Reactrix: A floor demonstration in shopping malls- by Digital Life- let me give you an idea…me and a two year old, we’re in the mall, moving in the free court, and my youngest was infatuated. A projector projecting moving patterns on the floor- they loved dancing and moving on the patterns.
W- It was really an ad for AMC theaters, and they were trying to suck the parents in… minimum competency level is lowered in these interactive ad campaigns. But they are very successful...
The progress in this field is amazing…just one year ago there was no wii.
How does the ‘slippery’ screen work?
Student- In any chapter about speech it is really important for children to imitate speech?
L- It’s a great question to be asking… especially right now… Because the numbers are showing that only 49 minutes a day are spent on video on the average but there are some household where that’s up to 4 hours a day. And those 49 minutes may not have shown up 10 or 20 years ago…
Student - (Upset by no conversation in a family car situation- girl cousin was on cell phone and boy was on headphones) States he questions the necessity of always being wired. One day he visited (someone) and he was the only one talking and had to maintain a singular conversation with (someone’s) parents. (FYI –why he got pissed.)
L- I am familiar with this. I have a brother in law whose child is about ten- there is no regulation of his electronic devices- in restaurants, in the car, it’s always on always with with him- that device. Even I would feel like saying, ”Please, someone tell him to turn that thing off! I am just very conscious of how media is being used by kids. There are some times in my home when there will be no interaction with the computer for the kids, when I am there, and there are some times when I not around the house, and that’s a good time for them to get on the computer and play games.
Student- What about educational games? …In my house, I was the big brother, and my younger sister; she wanted to play what I played. I was playing super Nintendo and she didn’t want junior software, she just wanted to play the stuff that her big brother was playing…”
L- Well, that’s big now…those games dedicated to kids age 3-7 are a special market. (They) are marketing to parents who are new parents, to catch them while they are parents of kids from age 3-7, to rope them in. They do this before they *the kids) have friends who have older siblings, friends who are in to the classrooms and right now I am wondering if there is going to be a time this year like every year lately when there are things that will be put away… just because they were put away after Xmas last year and- are we going to see a point when in terms of actual use in the house their is any power of play? Most interactive toys in recent years? I’m not seeing enough of it to think that it will go past another Xmas…
W- Yes, there’s a lot of dust out there…!
L-You know, it really comes down to how hard it is in a household with young kids; how hard it is for parents to set up the product they have just purchased? And to understand even the on and off controls, the cables, the family TV in terms of this new product, and then- always the confusion over manuals- I got to say that it’s just a pain in the a---!
“BUT! If it supports a play pattern like the thing in the mall its causality is its body activity. If plain old traditional usability that makes for magic, whereas if there’s too big of a hurdle, in understanding the realities of the home, it’s not going to make it
Student- In your book the 3 important factors, the 3c’s, make me think about the types of toys people will give children…can you evaluate that in view of an individual child’s response?
L- Interesting that you are getting to a question of temperament! Most parents are trying to figure out their own kids’ temperaments…I am always complaining that there is no real research on temperament! There are lots of experiments on content…I find this so frustrating…we need to test temperament now!!!
W- Yes! A fun thing to do might be to make a test in which we can empower parents to interact with kids on a game or video screen and have a way to rate their own kids. The good parents out there are in tune with the concept that anything that causes parents to think more about their kids and for their kids is a good thing.
Student—My wife and I have young child… and we are tired…the videotape is a good thing to give us some free time… what do you think about that?
L- My philosophy with my own kids is to give them a long leash, let them explore but within set rules- e.g. if it’s a long road trip, you can use the DVD player. If we are just going to the store, let’s talk about going to the store. Kids like to know that mom and dad are setting guidelines and caring about their kids, and why they are setting these guidelines.
W—One of the great things about Lisa’s book is the the way it’s written, it’s very accessible in a first person style. The text is phrased in such away that it’s really bloggable, she’s very general . (Talked about the 3 cccs (?)….)
L- There isn’t an easy answer and we are just trying to do a good job raising kids.
Student- When we think about what interactive thing I feel frustrated- when and why would we use interaction and when and where should children need it.
L- Let’s rephrase your question. Yeah, we can make any product out there but is it really anything that kids need at these stages?
W- Time for pretend play or things that stimulate pretend play or things that just extend media and let them come out with it into their own imaginations...e.g.- onscreen there is a picture, kids can make a printout- is important.
22nd thing anything that helps themes see the richness of languages, helps them make their own story, that can help them tell their own story…right now some of that happens without media, but some can happen with media too. A long way of hitting to the idea about what happens after the interaction, what do they go away with cause and effect- you can get it when the door bell rings
W- for example, if it’s this thing that puts kids in the drivers seat.
It can be something to mouth, touch, something that appeals to all on the base sensorimotor level- e.g.. - Masquerade, by BF Skinner, came out before the mouse, you could print it out and color it in- kids would—I had a constructivist classroom at the time- they would put this printou that they had colored in on their head and faces and walk around with them—it empowered them, it’s something they will remember in years to come—
Student- Perhaps the real power of interactive media is a platform for empowerment of a young child to have self-control and direct play on his own terms. It’s not just that you can put it on the table and turn it on. With me I have a four-year-old boy- and I have to explain to him how (some game) works. Now he just wants to use it to draw he doesn’t want me, the adult, to interfere in this play space.
W- Research has shown that they don’t want to do it alone, they want to share it with friend. We have new tools to bring narrative and quality content to our children. Don’t let’s let all complexity gunk it up.There are a lot of games now and old fashioned ones as well, where mom and dad have to be the scaffold- like a game of cards- you have to explain some things- you just have to, there's no changing that. Some will be a hit, others not… 2 categories of play:
1. Those which will let the kid go off on his/her own to play;
2. Those which require play with parents, or others who are scaffolds to learning skills.
L- My daughter, for example, has skills issues at her stage of development with mouse, will ask for help when issues of control arise
W- I want to make this thing when good people make bad software- right now its just killing the web play- biggest enemy to learning is waiting.
Student- when we talk about interactive media for kids, parents are very important for kid’s development.is anything developed for parents to play with kids?
L- Star fall is a site we go to in our house gives us ideas for fun ways to talk about language and rhyming it’s a really good question because a lot of the software seems really boring to parents
W—a lot of party software is out there now…my mom (who is not computer geek ) brought her boyfriend over, and played super Mario(go cart?)- all ages can play this game, despite their different levels of motor skills.
L--…there are so many DVD trivia games where players are challenged according to their age.
W--Lego star wars, for example can be fun. Used to be that games were completive, now the thing is to design games to bring people together- they can even e in different locations, places—parents traveling can log on and chat or play with their children.
It’s important to create and maintain an environment.
Webcams with little kids- they like to see themselves on the screen, their parents and grandparents on the screen
W- So if you cannot come up with an idea now, there’s really something wrong- the field’s wide open.
WEEK 7 Dust or Magic.
(Guys please note- FYI and to share. These are my personal notations of the class. Thanks!)
Ethnography projects.
Warren thinks Alex’s Piaget test from You Tube is interesting. Uses You Tube as a singular Environment.
Formal Operational, able to synthesize and analyze scenario of their own lives.
What does this mean in terms of software design?
Extensive Class Talk and Show of for game Freddi Fish.
I think that it uses Graphics well. Lots of directional arrows, which light up when the mouse rolls over the right place to click. Audio helps control and sells the product.
Designed by Ron Gilbert-for games such as Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam and the Backyard Sports series? google him! He also designed for Lucasfilm and did the Secret of Monkey Island series.
I like this game. I would buy it for my child.
Warren shows us something he is reviewing(?); he throws it up on big screen and passes around a small hand game. The game is like an electronic mind exercise kiosk. Its program keeps track of time and has branching.
Sound can either work for engagement or it can extract comment.
Every sound is used to engage, works with experience.
Developmentally, this is based on Sensorimotor base level and then up.
Object is published by Nintendo: Flash Focus.
I don’t like it- I don’t think setting goals and reinforcement of play skills by encouraging indulgence in popular culture cognitive bias is a healthy ploy for anyone.(i.e.- your mind is good-a ten-therefore it is the equivalentn of a 20 year old mind, and others). Game is dopey.
Screens and Children:
Yes and No?
Guest Lecture by:
Lisa Guernsey, about the topic of her book, “Into the Minds of Babes”
Some interesting links:
http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2007/10/as_readers_of_t.html
http://www.parents-choice.org/news.cfm
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/286/5438/247
www.wnyc.org/api/emailthis/most_emailed/month/rsswww.wnyc.org/api/emailthis/most_emailed/month/rss
With big screens in many homes, there is a market demand for more content in children’s software.
She was reporter for the NY Times, wrote an article on ITP show in late 1990s.
W- The biggest enemy to a child is boredom. They need to push the limit…”
L- Parents are using video more today. There are some very interesting toys on the market. However, and I am speaking as a Mom here, when you actually buy the toy and try to unwrap it with little kids pulling on you screaming because they want to see it and you are trying to open the package without slicing your fingers and hands, and the dog is barking and chewing up all the package wrappings…it is completely different product than the one you see on TV. On TV everything looks easy to set up. In reality, it is quite the opposite with most products.
Do these products make sense? After all, who is the buyer, who are they marketed to, who is buying them and opening them?”
Also, on another note-
Student- Yeah- and why does everything always seem to have to be (connected to a keyboard+)?
L- Well like my daughter… got Barbie Dance studio and …it was way over her head…She opened it and even after we set it up it moved so fast and the steps were very complicated for her. She lost interest fast…! There are two events type things- interesting scenarios- that I’ve seen lately. They are:
Reactrix: A floor demonstration in shopping malls- by Digital Life- let me give you an idea…me and a two year old, we’re in the mall, moving in the free court, and my youngest was infatuated. A projector projecting moving patterns on the floor- they loved dancing and moving on the patterns.
W- It was really an ad for AMC theaters, and they were trying to suck the parents in… minimum competency level is lowered in these interactive ad campaigns. But they are very successful...
The progress in this field is amazing…just one year ago there was no wii.
How does the ‘slippery’ screen work?
Student- In any chapter about speech it is really important for children to imitate speech?
L- It’s a great question to be asking… especially right now… Because the numbers are showing that only 49 minutes a day are spent on video on the average but there are some household where that’s up to 4 hours a day. And those 49 minutes may not have shown up 10 or 20 years ago…
Student - (Upset by no conversation in a family car situation- girl cousin was on cell phone and boy was on headphones) States he questions the necessity of always being wired. One day he visited (someone) and he was the only one talking and had to maintain a singular conversation with (someone’s) parents. (FYI –why he got pissed.)
L- I am familiar with this. I have a brother in law whose child is about ten- there is no regulation of his electronic devices- in restaurants, in the car, it’s always on always with with him- that device. Even I would feel like saying, ”Please, someone tell him to turn that thing off! I am just very conscious of how media is being used by kids. There are some times in my home when there will be no interaction with the computer for the kids, when I am there, and there are some times when I not around the house, and that’s a good time for them to get on the computer and play games.
Student- What about educational games? …In my house, I was the big brother, and my younger sister; she wanted to play what I played. I was playing super Nintendo and she didn’t want junior software, she just wanted to play the stuff that her big brother was playing…”
L- Well, that’s big now…those games dedicated to kids age 3-7 are a special market. (They) are marketing to parents who are new parents, to catch them while they are parents of kids from age 3-7, to rope them in. They do this before they *the kids) have friends who have older siblings, friends who are in to the classrooms and right now I am wondering if there is going to be a time this year like every year lately when there are things that will be put away… just because they were put away after Xmas last year and- are we going to see a point when in terms of actual use in the house their is any power of play? Most interactive toys in recent years? I’m not seeing enough of it to think that it will go past another Xmas…
W- Yes, there’s a lot of dust out there…!
L-You know, it really comes down to how hard it is in a household with young kids; how hard it is for parents to set up the product they have just purchased? And to understand even the on and off controls, the cables, the family TV in terms of this new product, and then- always the confusion over manuals- I got to say that it’s just a pain in the a---!
“BUT! If it supports a play pattern like the thing in the mall its causality is its body activity. If plain old traditional usability that makes for magic, whereas if there’s too big of a hurdle, in understanding the realities of the home, it’s not going to make it
Student- In your book the 3 important factors, the 3c’s, make me think about the types of toys people will give children…can you evaluate that in view of an individual child’s response?
L- Interesting that you are getting to a question of temperament! Most parents are trying to figure out their own kids’ temperaments…I am always complaining that there is no real research on temperament! There are lots of experiments on content…I find this so frustrating…we need to test temperament now!!!
W- Yes! A fun thing to do might be to make a test in which we can empower parents to interact with kids on a game or video screen and have a way to rate their own kids. The good parents out there are in tune with the concept that anything that causes parents to think more about their kids and for their kids is a good thing.
Student—My wife and I have young child… and we are tired…the videotape is a good thing to give us some free time… what do you think about that?
L- My philosophy with my own kids is to give them a long leash, let them explore but within set rules- e.g. if it’s a long road trip, you can use the DVD player. If we are just going to the store, let’s talk about going to the store. Kids like to know that mom and dad are setting guidelines and caring about their kids, and why they are setting these guidelines.
W—One of the great things about Lisa’s book is the the way it’s written, it’s very accessible in a first person style. The text is phrased in such away that it’s really bloggable, she’s very general . (Talked about the 3 cccs (?)….)
L- There isn’t an easy answer and we are just trying to do a good job raising kids.
Student- When we think about what interactive thing I feel frustrated- when and why would we use interaction and when and where should children need it.
L- Let’s rephrase your question. Yeah, we can make any product out there but is it really anything that kids need at these stages?
W- Time for pretend play or things that stimulate pretend play or things that just extend media and let them come out with it into their own imaginations...e.g.- onscreen there is a picture, kids can make a printout- is important.
22nd thing anything that helps themes see the richness of languages, helps them make their own story, that can help them tell their own story…right now some of that happens without media, but some can happen with media too. A long way of hitting to the idea about what happens after the interaction, what do they go away with cause and effect- you can get it when the door bell rings
W- for example, if it’s this thing that puts kids in the drivers seat.
It can be something to mouth, touch, something that appeals to all on the base sensorimotor level- e.g.. - Masquerade, by BF Skinner, came out before the mouse, you could print it out and color it in- kids would—I had a constructivist classroom at the time- they would put this printou that they had colored in on their head and faces and walk around with them—it empowered them, it’s something they will remember in years to come—
Student- Perhaps the real power of interactive media is a platform for empowerment of a young child to have self-control and direct play on his own terms. It’s not just that you can put it on the table and turn it on. With me I have a four-year-old boy- and I have to explain to him how (some game) works. Now he just wants to use it to draw he doesn’t want me, the adult, to interfere in this play space.
W- Research has shown that they don’t want to do it alone, they want to share it with friend. We have new tools to bring narrative and quality content to our children. Don’t let’s let all complexity gunk it up.There are a lot of games now and old fashioned ones as well, where mom and dad have to be the scaffold- like a game of cards- you have to explain some things- you just have to, there's no changing that. Some will be a hit, others not… 2 categories of play:
1. Those which will let the kid go off on his/her own to play;
2. Those which require play with parents, or others who are scaffolds to learning skills.
L- My daughter, for example, has skills issues at her stage of development with mouse, will ask for help when issues of control arise
W- I want to make this thing when good people make bad software- right now its just killing the web play- biggest enemy to learning is waiting.
Student- when we talk about interactive media for kids, parents are very important for kid’s development.is anything developed for parents to play with kids?
L- Star fall is a site we go to in our house gives us ideas for fun ways to talk about language and rhyming it’s a really good question because a lot of the software seems really boring to parents
W—a lot of party software is out there now…my mom (who is not computer geek ) brought her boyfriend over, and played super Mario(go cart?)- all ages can play this game, despite their different levels of motor skills.
L--…there are so many DVD trivia games where players are challenged according to their age.
W--Lego star wars, for example can be fun. Used to be that games were completive, now the thing is to design games to bring people together- they can even e in different locations, places—parents traveling can log on and chat or play with their children.
It’s important to create and maintain an environment.
Webcams with little kids- they like to see themselves on the screen, their parents and grandparents on the screen
W- So if you cannot come up with an idea now, there’s really something wrong- the field’s wide open.